Wiki – a reflection of social history

Weller (2006) considers the three most important aspects of the social interaction for the benefit of society in relation to technology are its

Robustness
Decentralisation that promotes democracy and
Openness

In many ways the Wiki displays all these features, it is much talked about in relation to teaching and learning and even those who may not understand what a Wiki is have heard of Wikipedia, thus demonstrating its social influence and power. But untimely there is a limit on all these features in relation to the wider questions of control and power and whose hands this rest in both in relation to Wikis and the wider use of computers.

This short paper will outline what a WIki is and how it relates to all three of these features promoted by Welles, addressing each in tern. Lastly it will ask the wider question of where power lays and who is excluded from entering the world where equality and openness is promoted as a idealist goal.


What is a Wiki?
A Wiki is a basic webpage that unlike its convention counter part begins its life as a blank space and is open to those who have access to edit and create a document. It does not require any specialist software, it does however require access to the site via a computer in the first place and also some IT knowledge to type and edit. Unlike Fountain (2005) who describes a Wiki as open to “anyone in the world can change anything in a wiki page. That is, no one authorizes the creation of wiki pages. Everyone is automatically (by default) authorized to write, edit and publish”, there are a number of barriers for many to overcome and thus this wide statement needs causius use.

That said in relation to many other aspects of IT publishing the Wiki does offer an opportunity for those who wish to collaborate in knowledge building as teachers and learners it is a useful tool.

Robustness resulting from decentralisation
Part of the robustness as Welles sites is the lack of centralisation for ultimate control. All those who have access to the tool can edit and change it; it sits on no one individual computer and as such is owned as a cooperative. This aspect of decentralisation for Welles is not only a technical advantage it represents a social aspect that promotes democracy. In theory at least nobody’s opinion is considered greater than any others, everyone is able to contribute and as a whole the knowledge generated is richer and more robust in its quality. Taking the most well known example of Wikipedia, this collaborative encyclopaedia is thought by some to be robust due to its public peer review process.

The debate surrounding the public V academic peers review process on Wikipedia is documented and has like all debates its supporters and opponents (Barton, 2004; Lamb 2002). The threat felt by some academics to the traditional knowledge institutions is noted frequently by the citing factual inaccuracies and oversimplifications in Wikipedia. However leaving aside the academic insecurities and debates, the principals behind the use of Wikis for teaching and learning are now widely acknowledged as the research and knowledge acquisition has become increasingly important for today’s ‘knowledge economy’ (Siemens, 2005).

If we accept the principals of knowledge constriction along with behaviourism and cognitivism are all part of the wider learning process, depended on experiences and circumstances then the usefulness of the Wiki is evident. For Siemens (ibid) the tools we use to learn are as important as the process itself and here connectivism (Siemens, 2005) fills the theoretical gap, it allows and promotes a multidimensional conversation and construction of knowledge. The skills it promotes at a more local level as listed below, it is not a comprehensive list but importantly it is the tool that promotes this form of learning is as important as the process of learning and the knowledge gained.

Knowledge sharing
Collaboration and acknowledgment of other people’s expertise
Team building
Literacy
Sense of community and sharing that extending beyond learning itself

Who contributes to a Wiki is an important aspect along with why do so. There are many roles for the Wikiite; there is the scribe, the researcher, the reader, the editor, the consultant, the cleaner (one who keeps pages tidy). These identities can be interchangeable; we are the reader for some parts but the scribe maybe for others. We may be interacting as a learner, a teacher, a researcher, or maybe as an escape artist, these social identities are all interlinked and perhaps at least initially demonstrate our cultural capital, or perhaps age (with new generations who have grown up with IT). This openness may be controlled or regulated but it reflects who we are and what we do in addition to the purpose for the interaction.

Open access
The third aspect Welles notes is the fact the technology is Open access, it is free in terms of its licence and can be uploaded and changed according to the skills of the developer. This principal goes beyond financial exchange to space, time and materials and again this can relate to the robust nature and the decentralisation. It links into the psychology of a community and promotes an all inclusiveness of the ideal type that has been promoted for a long time (think of the Coca-Cola adverts); we are all part of the wider global community. We are all human.

This ideal, all inclusive that promotes democracy and knowledge creation and distribution is a worthy goal but has a long way to travel. Its openness and the ability to use the technology is of course depended on a number of skills and commodities the developed world takes for granted, demands and wrongly believes the whole world has access to. In 2004 within the developed world 57% of the population owned a personal computer with 50% having access to the internet. Compare this with developing countries where only 3.7% of the populations have access to a personal computer, internet access is wider with 6% access, partly due to telephone technology (Chinn & Fairlie, 2006). While these figures will have changed it illustrates the disparities between countries and the relational power play of knowledge domination. Questions come to my mind regarding access for informed participation within the international community (at all levels, from government thought to local). Governments cannot participate if their advisors lack knowledge or struggle to obtain it. Further who writes the history, this area of educational control once the power of governments may be more democratised, but it will be from the perspective of the developed world largely. Moving closer to home (while remaining far away), there are the issues of English as the dominant language and literacy and the largest barriers. We are, within the UK, frequently told seven million people lack adequate literacy skills for ‘normal’ life (Moser, 1999). While this figure is questionable in itself as well as the concept of ‘normal’ it does illustrate the care needed when considering how we think tools can change the shape of society and in which direction.


Conclusion
In conclusion from a personal perspective I feel the internet and more specifically the Wiki has and will continue to contribute to the social dimensions of life in many ways both locally and globally. It is a good teaching and learning tool, it does engender the principals of democracy and can be a tool to promote collaboration and discussion on a local and global level. However I think one should always keep in mind the wider inequalities, the power relations of who has the majority control. Many factors come into play in relation to how equal and how collaborative we are and we are open to be.




References

Barton, M. (2004) Embrace the Wiki Way! [Electronic version]. 21st May: 14:34
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Chinn, M. D., & Fairlie R.W., (2006) ICT Use in the Developed World: An Analysis of Differenced in Computer and Internet Penetration. Santa Cruz Centre for International Economics, Working Paper 66.
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http://sccie.ucsc.edu/workingpaper/2006/ICT_use.pdf

Fountain, R., (2005) Wiki Pedagogy
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http://www.profetic.org/dossiers/spip.php?article967

Lamb, B. (2002) Wiki-based Collaborative Learning
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Moser, C., (1999) “A fresh start; improving literacy and numeracy”
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http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/mosergroup/


Siemens, G., (2005) Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, January 2005. Downloaded on 31 March 2009 from
http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm


Weller, M. (2006) “The distance from isolation: Why communities are the logical conclusion in e-learning”. [Electronic version] The Open University
Downloaded on 30 March 2009 from:
http://learn.open.ac.uk/file.php/5037/Course_resources/block_2_course_resources/h807_b2_mweller_distance.rtf